GoPro expects first-quarter revenue at top end of previous forecast

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(Reuters) - GoPro Inc (GPRO.O) on Wednesday estimated its first-quarter revenue at the top end of its previous forecast, and said it would cut about 270 jobs to reduce expenses in a bid to return to profitability in 2017.

Women record GoPro video at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California April 10, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Shares of the company, which had 1,552 employees as of Dec. 31, were up about 7 percent at $7.89 in extended trading.

GoPro had previously forecast its revenue to be $190 million to $210 million for the quarter ended March 31.

“We currently have no need to draw on our credit facility and we expect to be EBITDA positive for full-year 2017,” Chief Financial Officer Brian McGee said in a statement.

“Actually, with where we are at, I think we will get to EBITDA positive ahead of the fourth-quarter (this year)”, a GoPro executive told analysts on a conference call on Wednesday.

GoPro also said it expects to see double-digit revenue growth in 2017.

The company said it does not expect to restructure further in terms of job cuts this year to return to profitability.

The wearable action-camera maker has been struggling with slowing sales of its helmet- and body-mounted cameras as cheaper rivals emerge and smartphones feature increasingly advanced cameras.

GoPro has also been plagued by missteps: a delay in the launch of the Karma drone, production issues for the Karma and Hero5 camera once they launched in mid-September, and then a recall.

The job cuts come about three months after the company said it would cut about 15 percent of its workforce and shutter its entertainment business.

GoPro said it would incur charges of up to $10 million in the first quarter related to the restructuring.

Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shounak Dasgupta